What I Read in March 2015

What I Read in March 2015

Even though I read six books last month and I'm on track (actually ahead!) for reading 55 books in 2015, only one of those six books was written by an author from the ARRT Popular Fiction List. Since I'm trying to read at least one author from each of their identified sub-genres, I went gung-ho this month and tried to stay on track. I have come to realize that I really like complex suspense novels.

Also, to those of you who anxiously await my monthly post, I apologize for the delay in posting about my reading last month! Right at the end of March, I caught the stomach flu and was out for about five days and missed work. It's been a lot of time scrambling to catch back up. After this week, things should be back to normal.

The Secret Place by Tana French
Suspense
Dublin cold case detective Stephen Moran receives a tip that the girls at St. Kilda's boarding school may know more about the murder of playboy student Chris Harper than they originally let on in this novel of friendship, loyalty, and manipulation.

The Dublin Murder Squad series by Tana French (start with In the Woods) is one of my all-time favorites. The Secret Place is the newest (2014) installment of the series and while it wasn't my favorite of the series (that would be Faithful Place), it was still a fantastic read. I love the mystery, the twisty plot, the vivid writing, how involved you as a reader get with the characters; I love it all! Speaking of characters, I think that is my favorite aspect of these books. Each novel focuses on a different character. The main detective in the first novel is a minor character in the later books, but he still pops up. Other background characters remain present as the series progresses, but along with the new mysteries, you get new perspectives on and from the characters. You could read them out of order, but they are written chronologically and I would suggest reading them in that order if you can.

Blood Harvest by S.J. Bolton
Psychological Suspense
A family moves in next to a recently reopened church only to discover that the bizarre and bloody traditions of the town are not the only thing putting their children at risk.

Decidedly creepy. I've added everything else by Bolton to my to-read list.

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
Urban Fantasy
Despite tension in their working relationship, Harry and Murphy team up again to put a stop to the monthly brutal maulings that are plaguing Chicago in the second installment of the Harry Dresden Files.

I want to like this series so much. It has so many things that I like: a cool gritty protagonist, paranormal elements (wizards, werewolves, demons...), mysteries, the promise of a next book with a new mystery... but Harry is just a little flat and I'm not on board with how women are treated and represented so far. (I get that this character is a female werewolf, but do you really have to refer to her as "bitch" when she is being difficult to work with?) I have heard that the later books get better, but I think I'm going to wait a bit before I start them.

Too Good to Be True by Kristan Higgins
Contemporary Romance
After being jilted by her fiancé, Grace makes up a new boyfriend -- a hotshot pediatrician -- to get her relationship-obsessed family off her back, but the pediatrician may prove to be an obstacle in her relationship with her new, very real ex-con neighbor.

I just might not be a contemporary romance reader. As much as I love a love story and romantic comedies on film, I found myself rolling my eyes at the bizarrely boyfriend-focused main character (and her relationship-obsessed family) and her weird behavior less than one chapter in. I don't like liars. Unreliable narrators, fine. Characters who sometimes tell lies, okay, I guess depending on the situation. But characters who tell bizarre, unnecessary lies that somehow hugely impact the plot and find themselves having to tell more lies... I'm just annoyed. That being said, the story was fun (if a bit flat) and if I'm looking for another contemporary romance, I wouldn't be unhappy with another Higgins book. I just might check to make sure the crux of the story doesn't have to do with the heroine making up a boyfriend.

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
Suspense
When the body of the local sweetheart is discovered beaten and shot in a park, three men who were once friends find themselves mired in past conflicts thought resolved and present prejudices barely hidden as all try to solve the murder.

It helps that I've been craving gritty thrillers recently, but I think I would have thought this was fantastic regardless. Intense characters with compelling backstories that don't bog down the present plot, a frustrating and inexplicable murder mystery, and gut-wrenching social turmoil propel the reader at breakneck speed.

Codex by Lev Grossman
When investment banker Edward Wonzy takes a vacation before starting his European promotion, he does not anticipate being swept up in an intense search for a mysterious 13th century manuscript that hides Annotation

This suffered from trying to be too many things to too many people. Part literary thriller, part techno-mind games, Codex failed to satisfy either. Character motivations were unclear or unrealistic, astonishingly helpful coincidences were frequent, and all of the technology felt like it was written by someone who asked someone else who plays some video games a couple of questions. The connections between the missing 13th century book (this part of the story was really interesting and I wish Codex had just been a literary novel about the book and libraries) and this bizarre video game felt tenuous at best, except that they were a major plot point. I really liked The Magicians by Grossman and was pretty disappointed by Codex. If you're looking for a book about uncovering literary mysteries with a more intriguing love story, try Possession by A.S. Byatt instead.

What I Read in February 2015

What I Read in February 2015

I've been feeling pretty blah this month. I don't know if it's because I haven't been sleeping well, the grey weather is getting to me, or I've been fighting off a cold, but I just haven't been super motivated to do much other than sit around and knit or sleep. Only one of the books I read in February is by an author of the ARRT Popular Fiction List, so if I'm going to get through the entire list this year, I need to focus and be more diligent about reading those authors.

The Fever by Meg Abbott
As a seizure-inducing illness that attacks only girls sweeps through the high school of a typically peaceful town, paranoia runs rampant and long-kept secrets are revealed.

Teen girls treating each other poorly. If this were a TV show, this would be a major guilty pleasure show and I would watch it avidly. Not much else to say...

Hemlock Grove by Brian McGreevy
When half of a local girl's mauled body is discovered, a town-wide manhunt ensues and everyone is a detective and a suspect, including self-proclaimed werewolf, Peter Rumancek.

I wish I had made a note every time the author mentioned something about men's intuition residing in their balls. I want a quantitative representation of just how ridiculously gratuitous this was. Balls aside, this suffered a bit from some organizational issues, but was nevertheless an entertaining, if gruesome, read.

The Giver by Lois Lowry
In a seemingly idyllic community where all citizens have assigned roles and their daily lives are carefully regulated, twelve-year-old Jonas is selected to be the next Receiver, the community's keeper of memories.

I remember reading this in middle school and really liking it, but what I didn't notice then was how good it is. Not just that I enjoyed the story, but how extremely well-crafted the novel is. Lowry writes with precision and care that resonates through the reader with such intensity that you can't do anything but pay attention.

Half Broken Things by Morag Joss
Three social misfits -- a professional house sitter, a thief, and pregnant art student -- find unusual sanctuary in each other, but their haven is disrupted when an unexpected visitor arrives.

I'm including Half Broken Things this month even though I didn't finish it, but I'm not counting it toward my annual reading goal. While I was reading this, I really liked it. I'm interested in each of the characters and not so much of what they do, but why they are doing it. Their behavior is pretty unusual, but that's not what drives the book forward. Unfortunately, as soon as I set the book down, I stopped thinking about it and it took a significant mental effort to remember to pick it back up. It was pretty slow to start and not as thrilling as I thought it would be, but I suspect the second half of the book picks up quickly. I would have kept working on it, but it was due back to the library and it was an interlibrary loan... If I remember, I'll see about picking up a copy of this book again in the future, because I would like to finish it. We'll see if I remember.

Say I Love You Volume 1 by Kanae Hazuki
A friendless, stubborn high school girl in Japan finds herself unexpectedly pursued by the school's most desirable male student.

I read this because a patron was so excited that we might order the 5th book in this series for the library, I thought he was going to hop up and down at the reference desk. For such enthusiasm, I am willing to give 30 minutes of my life to reading this manga. It was sweet in a naïve-girl-pursued-by-experienced/domineering-but-well-meaning-guy kind of way, though towards the end she was becoming more assertive, so the relationship may balance out as the series progresses. I had a hard time telling the girls in the story apart (they're all dressed the same with similar haircuts and all have the same HUGE glittering eyes with heavy lashes) and some of the dialogue took me a minute to decipher, but I suspect that may be because I am likely not the target audience for this manga.

The Haunting of Maddy Clare by Simone St. James
Hired by a professional ghost hunter, nearly destitute modern woman Sarah Piper travels from London to a small English village to examine and eradicate the ghost of a servant girl whose detestation of men manifests violently.

What starts off as a delightfully creepy historical mystery quickly falls victim to the pitfalls of predictable romance and a transparent plot. For me, the characters and atmosphere weren't compelling enough to make up for the lack of mystery.

Aunt Dimity's Death by Nancy Atherton
Cozy Mystery
Down-and-out Lori Shepherd discovers that the hero of her allegedly fictional childhood stories -- Aunt Dimity -- is not a only real person, but has also passed away and now haunts the English cottage Lori has been asked to live in while fulfilling the duties of the will.

This was the coziest book I think I've ever read, right down to the childhood bunny rabbit toy that accompanies the main character and the pleasantly haunted kitchen that helps her bake perfect oatmeal cookies. A quick read that provides a saccharine escape with a very light mystery.

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What I Read in January 2015

What I Read in January 2015

In an effort to expand my reading and become a better reader's adviser (and achieve my goal of 55 books in 2015), I am trying to read at least one author listed for each sub-genre on the ARRT Popular Fiction List*. I've placed library books on hold through out the year (ask at your library about suspending holds to get your books at later dates rather than all at once) to accomplish this and I'll be indicating those books by including their sub-genre in italics after the title and author. I'm hoping to have spread the books out so I have a nice mix the whole year, but we'll see how it pans out.

*What is the ARRT Popular Fiction List, you ask? ARRT stands for "Adult Reading Round Table" and is a Chicago-based professional group, focused on improving readers advisory. They put together this list of popular authors as a self-evaluation tool for librarians and other reader advisers. The list not only introduces representative authors for particular sub-genres, but also asks the user to identify their level of familiarity with each author and sub-genre, highlighting areas of relative strength and weakness. If your public library subscribes to NoveList, you can access the full list through their online database.

If you are a member of Kitsap Regional Library, we subscribe too! Email me at kberg@krl.org or call the Port Orchard branch at 360-876-2224 and I'll help you access the list.

Dies the Fire by S.M. Stirling
Alternate History Science Fiction
After a sudden, inexplicable force wipes out all modern technology, several Oregon communities struggle to survive.

I am so disappointed that this was the first book I read in 2015. An interesting idea was bogged down by overwhelming, if well-researched, detail about halberds and trebuchets. Casual racism permeates the entire book, ranging from frustrating background characters that rely on stereotypes to criticizing the Nez Perce for assimilating to the one and only non-white main character apparently unable to speak with correct grammar (he's the only one with this affliction). I see reviews that suggest that the later books get better, but I will just have to take their word for it, because I will not be reading them.

Last Night at the Lobster by Stewart O'Nan
Literary Fiction
Red Lobster restaurant manager Manny Deleon attempts to rally his staff and balance his personal life despite blizzard conditions during the last night.

Timing really is everything. I really enjoyed this and though I'm sure I would have liked it whenever I read it, reading it right after finishing a distinctly disappointing novel made me relish it that much more. O'Nan's prose is elegant and complex, but doesn't require a lot of extra work on the part of the reader to decipher. I'm looking forward to reading more O'Nan in the future.

Rooms by Lauren Oliver
An unusual haunting forces both ghosts and the living to come to terms with their traumatic pasts and family secrets.

I have been craving ghost stories recently. Vengeful spirits, haunted houses, and tormented pasts come manifest have been especially enticing. This was a great doorway book into horror. It was eery and had characters with shrouded motivations that kept you interested, but wasn't terrifying. There were no sleepless nights because I was afraid of malicious architectural structures actively working towards my demise. Nothing in this book went too deep (those shrouded motivations may have been initially mysterious, but they were one-dimensional), but I'll be on the look out for other stories by Oliver.

Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear
Historical Mystery
Housemaid-turned-WWI-army-nurse-turned-private-investigator, Maisie Dobbs investigates a cult-like veterans' home even as the mental and emotional trauma from the war weigh heavily on Maisie and her community.

This is the book I wanted when I read The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King last year. The stories are very similar, but Maisie felt more real than Mary and I guess I'm not a big enough Sherlock Holmes fan to require his presence in all of my historical mysteries. Not only was the mystery intriguing, the characters well-developed, and the world fully imagined in Maisie Dobbs, it also satisfied my Downton Abbey itch. I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
A boisterous new mental patient with ample disregard for rules invigorates the other patients, challenges the staff, and engages in a war of wills against the domineering head nurse.

I do not know anything about the current state of mental health facilities in America, but the one in Kesey's novel is terrifying and I never want to find out first hand whether they have improved.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
Amateur Detective Mystery
An aspiring chemist and an amateur detective, 11-year-old Flavia de Luce typically spends her free time seeking revenge on her older sisters, but when she discovers a strange body in the garden, precocious Flavia is on the case.

My mother has been on me to read this book for ages and now I know why! Flavia de Luce is vivacious and refreshing and Bradley's quirky mystery brimming with even quirkier characters makes for an entertaining read.

A Sudden Light by Garth Stein
Trevor travels to his grandfather's dilapidated ancestral mansion in the Pacific Northwest during his parents' trial separation only to discover the ghosts may have different motives than the current residents.

This did not turn out to be the book I thought I was reading, but I loved it nevertheless. I was expecting a classic haunting, but what I got was a coming-of-age story wrapped in a family saga set in a decrepit mansion built from the family's long-gone logging fortune. And it was great.

Where is the Green Sheep? by Mem Fox
Sheep frolic about the pages of Mem Fox's rhyming picture book, but the green sheep is nowhere to be seen! Can you find the green sheep?

Picture books do not typically fill my reading list, but when a patron asked me to grab this from the shelf for her, I was enchanted by the cover illustration. This book is absolutely darling. The clever rhymes feel natural and there is enough going on in the pictures to keep kids and adults alike entertained without becoming cluttered. Very cute!

Neuromancer by William Gibson
Cyberpunk Science Fiction
Employed by a mysterious businessman to hack into a super artificial intelligence with unknown motives, renegade cyber-thief Case teams up with a biologically enhanced samurai and a digitally preserved personality in the novel that launched the cyberpunk genre.

I listened to Neuromancer on audio and I wish I had read it. For me, Neuromancer is one of those books where you understand everything that is going on (and can even keep track of all the characters!) but nevertheless feel like you are missing something. I found myself re-listening to sections and even looking up plot summaries to make sure I hadn't missed something. I never had, but listening to it felt disjointed and I suspect that reading it would have solved that issue. Gibson uses slang and vernacular particular to his future world and does not define anything, leaving the reader to understand only through context. Especially if you are not well-versed in cyberpunk, be prepared to spend some time thinking about Gibson's concepts and ideas on reality, artificial intelligence, and human consciousness and existence, but don't worry about the story dragging -- all these big ideas are nestled into a fast-paced, action-packed story.

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20th Century Bombshells: Women & The Bomb

World War II was a time of dramatic change. Modern warfare inspired new technology, including nuclear weapons, and also altered the way Americans thought about gender roles. Women of all social classes began working outside the home and impacting society in new ways. In the books below, American women play dynamic parts in the creation and the aftermath of the atomic bomb.

The Wives of Los Alamos by TaraShea Nesbit

Told collectively by the women of Los Alamos, this fictional memoir observes their community before and after the revelation of their work's nuclear nature.

The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan

Recruited by the US Army during World War II, thousands of Americans moved to Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a secret Project Manhattan city. Despite the intense secrecy surrounding their work, the women of Oak Ridge establish a vibrant community united by their sense of purpose. After the Bomb "Little Boy" is dropped on Hiroshima, the residents of Oak Ridge must come to terms with their role in the development of the atomic bomb.

An Atomic Love Story: The Extraordinary Women in Robert Oppenheimer's Life by Shirley Streshinsky and Patricia Klaus

Notorious for both the creation of the atomic bomb and his connections to the Communist Party, J. Robert Oppenheimer also had quite the tumultuous love life. His relationships with three smart, ambitious, and extraordinary women are chronicled in real-life details with extra attention paid to the dynamic social setting of America in the mid-twentieth century in this well-researched book.

The House at Otowi Bridge: The Story of Edith Warner and Los Alamos by Peggy Pond Church

Edith Warner lived by herself between Los Alamos and the San Ildefonso Pueblo, but was hardly alone. While she was not integrated into either community, Edith built strong relationships with the people who lived there, including J. Robert Oppenheimer. This character-driven book examines Warner, the friendships she made, and the influence she held in New Mexico.

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Student Librarian Interview: Selections

Here are the four books that I decided to suggest for my student librarian interview on Thursday!

Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

Equipped with more lives than a cat, Ursula uses her numerous resurrections to defy destiny and possibly save mankind as World War II looms ever closer.

Harvest by Jim Crace

The morning after the harvest, two ominous columns of smoke and the unexpected visitors that accompany them disrupt the superficially idyllic life on a small English hamlet.

The Entertainer: Movies, Magic, and My Father's Twentieth Century by Margaret Talbot

Actor Lyle Talbot's story as told by his daughter in this part-family memoir, part-social history vividly recreates the magic of cinema during the golden age of Hollywood.

Between Man and Beast: An Unlikely Explorer, the Evolution Debates, and the African Adventure That Took the Victorian World by Storm by Monte Reel

Scientist and adventurer Paul Du Chaillu hunts the legendary gorilla for three years in the African jungles to fast track his career and unintentionally fuels the raging evolution debates.

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Student Librarian Interview!

I have an interview coming up next week! That's right, an interview to be a REAL LIVE LIBRARIAN! I'm ridiculously excited. If I get the position, I'll be working 8 hours per week at a retirement community near the University of Washington as their house librarian. I'll be responsible for acquisitions, cataloging, readership advisory, shelving, weeding, creating presentations, and leading the library committee -- generally managing the 2,500+ volume reading library. I really want to go check out their library in person, but I'm not sure how they would feel about visitors not visiting their residents...

For part of my interview, I need to select four books for the library to consider purchasing, two fiction and two nonfiction. The books need to have been published within the past six months (November 2012 forward). I was given some demographic information (average age 88, military service, college degrees, etc.) about the residents as well as the library's acquisitions focus (critical acclaim, best sellers, large print, popular or local authors, etc.). I've been doing some looking around and I've started building up a list. I'll spend tomorrow and probably Sunday refining it, but as of 9:26pm on April 26th, this is what I've got. Not knowing what their library is like now is sure making this tough!

Fiction:
Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
Middle C by William H. Gass
All That Is by James Salter
Harvest by Jim Crace
The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro (October 2012)
Snapper by Brian Kimberling (added to the list 4/28)
Daddy's Gone A Hunting by Mary Higgins Clark (added to the list 4/28)

Nonfiction:
The Entertainer by Margaret Talbot
Artful by Ali Smith
The Generals by Thomas E. Ricks (September 2012)
The Story of Ain't by David Skinner (October 2012! Augh!)
Between Man & Beast by Monte Reel (added to the list 4/27)

Maybe they'll even let me start/join a knitting circle. Books and knitting? All of my dreams fulfilled!

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